


The Well of Wonders

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alcoholism, Freya just wants to be a good mom, Gen, Insecure Tony, JARVIS loves Tony, M/M, Magic, Overworking, Pre-Avengers (2012), Pre-Iron Man 3, Shield is a pain in the butt, Stark Tower, Tony isn't good at taking care of himself, but Loki never goes to attack Thor, but it is for the sake of getting rid of nightmares so..., good ish loki, happens during the first Thor movie, it's kinda creepy to watch people while they sleep, so nothing too interesting happens on Thor's end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 20:12:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18198779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: "There was a legend about the well in the garden. Though even those who spoke of it did not know how the legend came about. Most of the them had never even seen the well for themselves, since Freya’s gardens were so vast and maze-like. The legend said that anyone who drank from the well would be granted their greatest desire."When Loki discovers that he is not Asgardian like he had always believed, he feels hurt and betrayed. Enough so that he is willing to use dangerous magic to go back and change everything. But instead of getting what he wants, maybe Loki will get what he needs instead, which will lead him to a certain genius Midgardian.





	The Well of Wonders

There was a legend about the well in the garden. Though even those who spoke of it did not know how the legend came about. Most of the them had never even seen the well for themselves, since Freya’s gardens were so vast and maze-like. The legend said that anyone who drank from the well would be granted their greatest desire.

And now, even though it had taken him years, Loki was finally standing in front of the well. He’d started searching for it in his never ending quest for knowledge, but now that he was actually here, it was tempting to actually use it.

Despite all the stories about it, the well itself was an unattractive thing made of boring gray stone that looked ready to crumble apart at any moment. Loki took a few steps closer to the well. Despite it’s very underwhelming appearance, he could sense the magic radiating from it, and while he wasn’t entirely sure if he believed the legend, there was only one way to find out for sure. He reached out with cupped hands to scoop up some-

Before he could even break the surface of the water, which was so clear that from certain angles it almost looked like the well was empty, a hand was grabbing his wrists and gently tugging him away. He scowled and turned to see who had interrupted his very important scientific endeavor, only for his shoulders to slump down as he saw who it was. “Mother?”

She had an irritatingly patient and understanding look on her face. It would be a lot easier to get angry at her if she was angry at him first. “This is not for you, darling,” she told him not unkindly. “I am very impressed that you were able to find this place, but I must ask now that you leave, and not return here.”

Loki furrowed his eyebrows. “But Mother, if it can grant anything I wish for…” he trailed off, silently pleading for her to understand why it was so important that he get a chance to drink from the well.

Freya knelt down so that she could look Loki in the eyes. “I’m afraid that it is not so simple as that, Loki. This well is a very powerful, and very dangerous, tool. You do not get to choose what you get from it, because it will decide for itself what you need most, and it will always ask a heavy price in return.”

Even though he was frustrated to not get the chance to drink, he was also smart enough to realize that Freya wasn’t talking to him like he was just some kid, like he was Thor. She was being honest with him, and the pain in her voice made it clear that her words came from a place of personal knowledge. He hesitated for a moment, not wanting to push his luck since it seemed like he wasn’t in trouble yet, but then decided to just go for it. “Did you drink from it?”

For a few seconds, he wasn’t sure if she would answer him, but then she sighed, and closed her eyes, leaning forward so that her head was resting lightly against Loki’s. “I have. I got what the well determined I needed, but the price that I had to pay was far too great. You must promise me that you will stay away from this well, please.” 

The desperation in her voice was frightening for Loki to listen to, because he was used to her always being calm and cool and collected. Not wanting to disappoint his mother, Loki nodded. “I promise.”

She let out a soft sigh of relief, and stood back up, reaching out to take one of his hands. “Thank you, my darling. Now come along, let’s get back home for lunch. If Thor can’t start eating soon I’m sure that he will begin bouncing off the walls.”

Loki snorted. “As if he could.” Then his eyes widened. “Could he? Is there some kind of a spell for that?”

He listened to Freya’s impromptu lesson about magic as they headed back to the castle, Loki practically skipping along with his mother, happily holding her hand. Of course he could not just forget about the well, but he also could not forget about his promise. He loved his father and brother, but his mother had always been the most important member of his family to him, and no matter how old he got, he would never want to let her down.

,,,

_Many, Many, Years Later_

,,,

Loki watched in horror as his skin changed back to the pale fleshy color he was used to, but the bright blue was already burned into his eyes, and he was afraid that he would never see anything else again. Everything he’d known his entire life was just a lie, and Odin had always known he would choose Thor, and even Freya… even Freya had known that Loki was just an abomination all this time.

A million thoughts were racing through Loki’s head, a million things he could do to teach everyone a lesson. If they wanted him to be a monster, then he could be a monster. But he didn’t want to be. How much did that even count for though, really?

And then Loki remembered the legend of the well. He’d kept his promise to his mot- to Freya all these years because he had loved her, and thought that she loved him in return, but now he knew that she was just a liar, and she had probably never even cared about him at all. But he could change that. The well could fix everything. He didn’t care what kind of a sacrifice it would ask from him, he would pay it if it meant that he wasn’t a monster, if it meant that his family actually loved him. 

He raced away from the castle, ignoring everyone who called out after him, and made his way to Freya’s garden. It was much different, and even more wild looking than it had been several years ago. Of course Loki had spent time in the garden more recently, since it was just a comforting place to be, and a symbol of his mother’s power.

But even so, he could follow the traces of magic in the air to find the well again. Maybe it would make Freya regret ever teaching him more about magic, but right now, he didn’t want to think about that woman if he could avoid it. He just felt too betrayed by everything that had happened.

He stopped right in front of the well, and stared down at it. It looked just as run down as he remembered, if not more so. There was more dirt and grime clinging to the rotting stones, and he wondered if it would ever just collapse completely. He knelt in front of the well, and leaned over to peer at the water. Despite the dirt and mess everywhere else, the water was still almost impossibly clear. 

Loki hesitated for just a moment, as he thought about the look on Freya’s face when she saw that he didn’t keep his promise. But then he looked down at his own hand, which had been blue a couple of hours ago, and forced himself to remember that he didn’t need to care about her feelings anymore.

He reached into the well, and as soon as his fingers touched the water, his eyes widened in surprise. Instead of feeling like a normal liquid, it was thick, like sticking his hand into a jar of syrup. Trying to actually scoop some into his cupped hands was something of a project, and then he heard someone clear their throat from behind him.

Loki whipped around, ready to start casting spells at whoever had the audacity to interrupt him, but his hands remained stuck in the thick contents of the well, and he could only crane his neck back. There was a young girl standing there, staring at Loki with her head tilted. But instead of flesh and blood, she seemed to be just a skeleton, wearing a flowy white sundress and a wide-brimmed sunhat with a little daisy tucked into the ribbon that wrapped around the hat. Long golden curls spilled out from under the hat, tumbling over her shoulders. “Who are you?” he barked out.

With no lips to speak of, it was impossible to tell whether the girl was smiling or not, but there did seem to be something of an amused air to her. “I’m here because you want to make a deal. You must, or you would not have summoned me.” Loki’s eyes flicked back to the well for less than a second before returning to the girl, and she laughed and nodded. “Yup.” Then she clapped her hands together, the bones clicking as they made contact. “So here’s the deal, then. I’ll give you what you need most, and in exchange, you give me Anthony Stark.”

Loki frowned. “What? I have nothing of that name in my possession.”

The girl laughed as she walked closer to Loki, a spring in her step. And the ground beneath each step bloomed with grass and small flowers, and Loki had no idea who this girl was, but with the magic of the well surrounding him, he couldn’t detect the magic that she surely had to have. “Ah, don’t worry, you do,” she assured him. “He’s a Midgardian, and I would love to have him.”

A Midgardian? Loki’s frown deepened. “What use do you have for a Midgardian? And why is he mine to barter away?”

The girl shrugged. “Just is.”

Well. Loki had no idea what to make of any of this. But for this powerful creature to want this Anthony Stark, he had to be something valuable, right? It would be a terrible shame to trade him away before even getting the chance to meet him for himself. “I don’t want a deal,” Loki finally decided. 

There was a slight creaking noise as the skeletal face stretched into a grotesque smile. “I see. Don’t worry, you haven’t hurt my feelings with this news. I suppose that this means I will just be seeing you some other time. Until then, Loki Laufeyson.”  
He wanted to snap at her to not call him that, but then he was suddenly falling backwards onto his butt as the well abruptly let him go, and by the time he had scrambled to his feet, the girl was gone. Loki had no idea what had just happened, but he at least had a destination to head towards. Thor was already on Midgard. Surely he wouldn’t mind a little bit of company, right? Then again, seeing Thor after everything he had learned… yes, perhaps it would be best to make this a one man quest.

Loki returned to his quarters to quickly pack up anything he assumed that he might need on his journey, and then went to the bifrost. He cautiously approached Heimdall, unsure of whether the Asgardian would be willing to help him. “You will-” then he cut himself off. He was in no position to be making demands at the moment. “Can you send me to Midgard? Hopefully not to where Thor is. I need to find a Midgardian named Anthony Stark. Please,” he added at the end.

Heimdall looked at Loki with those piercing his eyes for a very long minute, and then he nodded once. “I can send you there, my prince. But I must warn you that if you leave, you may not be able to return so openly.”

Loki pursed his lips together. “I can get back here on my own.” He only needed Heimdall to make sure that he was actually finding the right person. 

“One way trip to Midgard it is,” Heimdall told him. 

It was always annoying when Loki was reminded of how low the bifrost was compared to usual means of travel, but he was willing to bear it when he needed to. He ended up landing in the middle of an empty street. He looked around, and there, in the very near distance, was a very large tower with ‘Stark’ written right across it. Well, he was definitely in the right place, at least.

Considering the fact that the other buildings around didn’t have such bold claims on them, it solidified the theory that Stark was something special. Loki hadn’t bothered to spend much time on Midgard in ages, but even a couple hundred years ago, there had been no singular ruler of the realm. But perhaps Stark was one of the smaller rulers?

As Loki moved closer to the tower, he was vaguely surprised by the immense difference even being a single street over made. There were suddenly more people around, despite the early morning hour, and he wondered if Heimdall had just decided to drop him off in the slums. Though that was probably a wiser idea than putting him in the middle of a busy street, so Loki decided to be more forgiving in this case.

It obviously didn’t take Loki long at all to realize how much he stood up, and he quickly used his magic to change his clothing into something more appropriate for this realm, based on what he saw others going around in. The clothes of the people around him were made of a strange material that he couldn’t quite place, so Loki just used illusions on himself, not wanting to replicate the uncomfortable looking material.

Then he reached the tower, and stepped inside. It occurred to him that if he hadn’t known of the existence of this Anthony Stark, then it was most likely that the Midgardian did not know of his existence either. He still found it ridiculous that Midgardians saw Loki and Thor and the others as mere myths, though he did enjoy being thought of as a god.

The lobby of the building was completely empty. Probably not yet open for business. But there were people in the building, much higher up, that much Loki could detect. It was easy enough to teleport to the highest set of floors, which clearly appeared to be a living space rather than an office space. Loki went to the bedroom first, since it seemed the most likely place for a Midgardian to be at this hour, but the bed was empty, and in fact, looked as though it had not been slept in in quite some time. 

Loki closed his eyes and sent out a small wave of magic, figuring out that the resident of the living space- who was most likely Stark- was a few floors beneath him. Loki teleported there instead, and found himself in a laboratory of some kind. At first glance, it seemed to be empty. A polite voice seemed to come out of nowhere. “Sir, there seems to be an intruder in the tower. He has just entered the workshop.”

There was a bump, and one of the gleaming silver tables jumped up an inch, rattling around the tools and pencils scattered around on top. Then a man quickly scrambled out from beneath the table. There was oil smeared across one of his cheeks, large bags beneath his eyes, and limp strands of greasy hair clung to his face. Loki found himself entirely unintimidated by the small person before him. The man grumbled, “Maybe a little more warning next time, J?”

The disembodied voice responded with a wry, “My apologies, Sir. Should I send one of your suits?”

The man shrugged. “Sure.”

Loki narrowed his eyes, not liking the idea of being ignored in favor of discussing fashion. Especially when the person standing in front of him clearly knew nothing on that subject. “Mortal!” He barked out, drawing the attention back to himself. “I am searching for Anthony Stark. Tell me where to find him, and no harm will befall you.”

The man blinked a few times, looking slightly confused, and then he pouted. He, a presumably full grown man, pouted. He tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. “J, the bad guys don’t even recognize me,” he whined.

“You are Anthony Stark?” The creature of the well must have been mistaken in thinking that Anthony Stark would be of any relevance to him. Perhaps it was not too late to go back and make that deal after all, and… Loki looked on in disbelief as he realized that the Midgardian had turned to one of the tables, tinkering with some odd looking contraption rather than paying any kind of attention to Loki. “Who are you?” he demanded loudly.

Stark peered over his shoulder to give Loki a wide-eyed look. “Excuse me? Did it escape your attention that you’re the one who broke into my home and started shouting and whatnot? I should be the one asking who you are, and I would, but honestly, I just don’t really care.”

There was no way Loki could let this disrespect stand. He teleported directly in front of Stark, but the man wasn’t at all startled, and as Loki sent a probing strand of magic through Stark, he realized the problem. The man seemed practically dead on his feet with exhaustion, his stomach had nothing inside of it aside from the remnants of alcohol, and his eyes were a bit too unfocused. Not to mention the way he reeked of stale sweat and unwashed body.

Before he could comment on the man’s atrocious inability to care for himself, something zipped across the room, and then large metal plates began climbing up Stark’s legs, looking like it was swallowing him whole. The entire process took mere seconds, and then Stark hovered up into the air in his fancy suit of armor. Well. At least this was better than Stark discussing fashion with his invisible servant. “So you wanna tell me how you got past Jarvis? And maybe what you actually want, if you didn’t even know who I was?” The voice came out with a strange metallic tint to it. 

Loki tilted his head. “Jarvis? I know no one of that name. As for why I am here, it is because I have been informed that you belong to me, and I wished to take an assessment of my possessions.”

There was a small whining noise from Stark’s arm, and a moment later, Loki was being blasted across the room, slamming into the solid wall and feeling bits of it crumble down around him. “I don’t belong to anyone,” the Midgardian growled. Loki grinned as he stood up to face Stark. “Now I suggest that you get the hell out of my tower right now before I kick your ass even harder.”

“You built this armor, Stark? Perhaps there is more to you than there appears to be. I would not have suspected you to have much in the way of brains, considering that you are a mortal.”

He waved his hand to send some magic towards the armor. It was admittedly well made, and Loki could eke out all of the fascinating hidden mechanisms. His interest was definitely piqued. Though unfortunately for Stark, there were absolutely no magical defenses in the armor, and it was all too easy for Loki to pry the suit apart. He made sure that Stark didn’t drop straight to the floor, since he was aware that mortals were very fragile. 

Stark was staring at him with wide eyes. “Did you get video of that, J?”

“Indeed, Sir.” The invisible man sounded quite concerned. “Should I call Colonel Rhodes?”

Stark stopped to think about it for a moment, then shook his head. “No, no, he’s busy right now. We’re not supposed to bother him until the eighteenth at least, remember?”

“I’m sure that in the case of an emergency such as this-”

Stark adamantly shook his head. “It’s fine! I can handle this myself!” Then he looked at Loki, and despite the weariness weighing him down, he was able to stand strong. Loki opened his mouth to explain that he wasn’t interested in a fight, but then Stark suddenly grabbed a wrench and flung it across the room at Loki’s head. 

Loki rolled his eyes as he stopped the projectile mid-flight, and he didn’t notice that a small machine had crept up behind him. It swung hard to whack the backs of his knees to send him tumbling to the ground again, and then suddenly a white foam was being sprayed all over him. 

Stark walked over to the machine to pat it’s claw-like hand. “Good boy,” he murmured.

Loki got to his feet, and wiped most of the foam off of his face. He knew that he must look rather ridiculous at the moment, and was feeling annoyed, though he appreciated that at least he’d been directed towards a mortal with some semblance of intelligence and fight in him. But Loki did not want to fight. He used his magic to put Stark to sleep. 

It took surprisingly little effort, because of how close to passing out from tiredness the man had already been. Then Loki teleported both himself and Stark back to the big bedroom upstairs, and put the man down on the large bed. He closed his eyes for a moment, but couldn’t detect any other living beings nearby. Though he had no way of knowing if there were any other machines ready to fight him. “What are your intentions?” the invisible butler suddenly asked.

Loki looked around, unsure of how the servant had gotten up here so quickly. Then his eyes widened as he realized that the servant had to be another machine, because there were no other people around. It took a few minutes of investigation, but then Loki discovered that the machine was located somewhere in the walls. “I intend him no harm,” he finally answered. “I am curious to learn more about your master. I must know why he is valuable enough to be traded for what I most desire in life.”

“Sir is quite valuable, far beyond his net worth. He is known as one of the smartest men in the world, is excessively selfless and charitable, shows great loyalty to those who earn it from him, is charismatic, and a good person.”

Loki smiled. “You love your master?”

“I am just a machine. I am not capable of love.”

Loki shrugged. “You don’t sound like a machine to me.” He looked around the large bedroom, and despite how much was in it, it felt very sparse. There were almost no signs of a real person living there, no personal items aside from a single picture on the right-hand bedside table. Loki went over to pick it up and look it over. It was a photograph of three people, a redheaded woman with a sly smile, a dark skinned man in a uniform with several pins and badges, and a larger man in a suit. They all looked pleased with themselves, and at the bottom of the picture was the view of the top of a cake that said ‘Happy Birthday’ on it. 

So these people must be close to Stark, though he couldn’t figure out why they would leave Stark here to run himself into ruin. He put the picture down, and then grabbed Stark’s blankets to pull them up over the man to tuck him in. He looked up at the ceiling. “I believe that I will need to take care of your master before I will be able to get a proper idea of his worth. Will you allow me to do this?”  
There was a long pause before the servant responded. “Sir does need someone to care for him more than I can. But we know nothing of you or your motivations, and have no reason to trust you. Breaking into the tower certainly does not put points into your favor.”

Loki nodded. That was fair. “My name is Loki Od- Loki Liesmith. I hail from Asgard.”

There was a sleepy voice from behind him. “Jarvis, bring up those pictures from New Mexico.”

Loki whirled around, startled. Stark looked only half-awake, but the fact that he was able to be able at all after Loki used magic to make him sleep was entirely unusual. Even Asgardians were more than susceptible to Loki’s power, and Stark was just a weak little Midgardian. “Very well, Sir,” Jarvis responded. On one of the walls, a picture was suddenly projected. It was a grainy still from a security feed, but Loki could clearly make out the features of his br- of Thor. 

Stark cleared his throat. “You related to this bag of crazy?”

Loki hesitated to answer. He wasn’t related to Thor in terms of blood, but he was related to him solely in terms of whether there was a connection between them, the same way a teacher was related to a certain subject. “I know him,” was what he finally settled on saying. “Prince Thor of Asgard. Where did you get this photograph?”

Stark sighed. “When Shield was suddenly pouring into New Mexico, I couldn’t resist taking a bit of a peek. Their camp was too impregnable without me actually being on the premises, but they didn’t think to strengthen security everywhere nearby. So the two of you fell out of the sky from Asgard? All that Norse stuff is actually true?”

While Loki wasn’t sure of the full extent of the stories that had been told about him, he was pretty sure that it was a safe bet to believe that many of them were rooted in the truth. “Most likely.”

Stark let out a tired little giggle. “So you screwed a horse?”

Loki blinked a few times before furrowing his eyebrows. “No? Is that what people say about me?”

Stark let out another soft sigh, and then his eyes closed the rest of the way, and he relaxed back against his pillows. Loki would definitely have to look into this to figure out why Stark had been able to resist the magic at all, but for now… “I must go find my fool of a-” he cleared his throat. “I will return once I have dealt with Thor. Your master should awaken once he is fully rested.” He went back over to Stark and pressed a hand against his forehead. Technically this was a highly frowned upon thing to do, but Loki threaded just the tiniest bit of magic through Stark’s entire being, pausing for a moment as he reached the obstruction in the mortal’s chest, but then moving on. This would give him a very vague ability to detect any particularly strong emotions from Stark, so that he would know if he needed to return quickly for anything.

Finding his way to New Mexico was a bit more difficult than Loki had expected, mostly because he had absolutely no idea where it was in context to his current location, which he didn’t even know the name of. There were just too many different places on Midgard with vastly different names and cultures. 

But eventually he got there, and once he was close enough, he was actually able to sense Thor’s presence, as weak as it was, and he made his way there. He reached a small trailer that seemed to be just about in the middle of nowhere, and had no clue why Thor would want to be here, of all places. There were other people inside as well, but even so, Thor had always been such a social creature.

Loki slowly approached the front door, and then paused as he realized that he had no idea what he would even see. What was there to say to someone he had believed to be his brother his entire life, only to find out that he had been sorely mistaken? It seemed to be something of a dilemma. 

And yet, as much as Loki wished he could convince himself otherwise, he did still love his brother, as stupid and impulsive as he could be. Their whole lives had been some combination of Thor getting them both into trouble, and then Loki getting them both out of it. Maybe that didn’t have to change.

With the way that the Allfather had banished Thor, maybe it was possible that Thor would be willing to at least listen to the possibility of not being cultishly loyal to Odin. Maybe they could work together, and someday, when Thor took the crown, Loki could be one of his advisors, and everything would go on as before.

Loki gulped once, and was glad that no one was around to witness his nervousness, and then he knocked against the rickety metal door. He could hear shuffling around from inside, and then a female voice calling out to him. “Who is it?”

Loki balled his hands into his fists, and then teleported away, back to Stark’s tower. He didn’t realize he was shaking at first, but then he sank down on the edge of Stark’s bed, and reached out to brush his hand across the man’s hair. Despite knowing nothing about the man at all, just the sight of him somehow seemed like enough to calm Loki’s nerves, and he didn’t understand why.

He adjusted himself so that he was sitting with his back up against the headboard, and looked down at Stark, keeping vigil for the entire ten hours that the man slept, making sure that each time he began to get restless, plagued by nightmares Loki could only imagine, he would send soothing thoughts to settle the man down. 

And then Stark eventually woke up with a soft groan, eyelashes fluttering before he finally opened his eyes. “J, what time is it?”

“It is 3:33 in the afternoon, and you are in the penthouse of your tower in New York City. Your guest is beside you, and you are safe.”

Stark abruptly moved to sit up, and then turned to look at Loki with wild eyes. “You’re not just something I dreamt up?”

His hair was sticking out all around his head, and Loki couldn’t refrain from laughing at the sight. Then he calmed himself, and nodded. “I am real, Stark.”

Stark continued to stare at him as if Loki were the crazy one in this situation. “And you’re in my bed, watching me sleep? It’s 3:30… shit, how long were you watching me sleep?” Then his eyes somehow managed to widen even further. “J, how many missed calls do I have?”

“Thirteen messages from Miss Potts.”

Stark quickly got to his feet and began running around the room. “Dammit! I promised that I would make it to that meeting today, and I missed it!” Then he pointed at Loki accusingly. “This is your fault! You broke into my house and then broke my suit and made me miss that board meeting! J, please tell Pepper that I was unavoidably detained by the freakish alien invading my house! And then tell her that I’m not available so that she won’t call back!” He sank down onto the bed, leaning over to rest his head in his hand. “I’m so screwed.”

Loki went to place a comforting hand on Stark’s shoulder, but Stark immediately jumped up like he’d been touched with a live wire. “Don’t,” he choked out. “Can you please just leave me alone?” Then he quickly exited the room, and Loki could hear the sound of running water. That was good, because Stark definitely seemed like he was in desperate need of a shower. 

It was a little while later that Stark returned, dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a worn away tee-shirt. He frowned when he saw Loki lounging on the bed like he owned it. “Seriously, can you not just leave me alone?”

Loki shrugged. “I always take good care of my things, Stark, and I wouldn’t wish to make you any exception.”

“Well considering that I’m not your ‘thing’, I’d very much appreciate it if you left me alone. And stop calling me Stark, it’s weirding me out!”

“Anthony, then,” Loki graciously acquiesced. On a first name basis with Stark already? Then again, Midgardians often had very different views of formality than Asgardians did.

The mortal made a gagging noise. “God, that’s even worse. Just call me Tony. And I’ll call you a cab so that you can leave!”

Loki suddenly appeared in front of Tony, and this time it did startle the man, since he was much more aware of what was going on around him. He didn’t reach out to touch Tony again, though, considering the almost violent reaction earlier. “You are my responsibility, and I am not going to take that lightly. Clearly there is something about you that makes you a worthy bartering token, and I am quite eager to find out what that is.”

“Is there really no way to get rid of you?”

Loki shook his head. “Not until I figure out what makes you special.”

Tony snorted. “Well, I can definitely make your job a lot easier with that one. The only thing special about me is how I’m able to so consistently fuck up everything.” He reached up to rub a hand across his face, and then turned away to leave the bedroom. He headed over to the bar in the living room.

Remembering how much alcohol had been in his system during his analysis earlier that morning, Loki narrowed his eyes at just how many drinks were waiting there for easy access. “Are you sure that that is a wise idea?”

Tony poured himself a glass, and then chugged the whole thing down with a defiant look on his face. “I’m pretty sure that it’s the only way I can actually get through a conversation with you. Do you not realize that I can call the military and Shield and everyone else on your ass to make sure that you don’t walk out of here in one piece?”

Loki shrugged. “I am confident that I could avoid any defenses that you Midgardians might try and throw up against me. I am stronger and older than any of you.”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “Well if that’s the case, then why would you even want to ‘own’ me, or whatever?”

“That is the question,” Loki muttered. “Believe me, I would like to find out the answer to that just as much as you do.”

“Sir, Miss Potts is calling.”

Tony swore under his breath, and then rummaged around his bed until he emerged with a little flat glass rectangle. “Pep, hey, look, I swear that that’s a good explanation for…” he trailed off, a troubled look slowly building up on his face. “Oh. Yeah, sure, no problem. Thanks for the heads up.” He shoved the device into his pocket, and heaved out a large sigh. “Why can’t anything ever be easy for me?” He turned to glare at Loki. “Now I have Shield on my doorstep because of you and your stupid brother!”

Despite how upset Tony sounded, Loki couldn’t feel anything from their connection, which meant that it wasn’t too strong of a feeling. Then he started laughing as he processed all of Tony’s words. The man looked confused about why Loki was laughing, but Tony had just called Thor stupid, and he was already starting to see how this man might be valuable to him. 

Tony rolled his eyes and muttered too quietly for even Loki to hear it, though Loki had no doubt that none of it was flattering towards him. “I will help you deal with these people, if you’d like.”

For a moment Tony looked tempted, but then he shook his head. “Nah, I’m pretty sure that that would create more problems than it would solve. Anyways, could you just like, disappear? Or at least hide in the closet or something.”

Loki immediately turned himself invisible, knowing that Tony would assume he had left, and then he watched as Tony stared at the elevator, more and more tension building up in him as the minutes passed. And when there was a soft ding and the doors started to slide open, the tension all melted away as if it had never been there, and the look on Tony’s face shifted to one of charm and pleasure. He was apparently a great actor, because Loki could still sense Tony’s unease with this situation. Loki was reminded of all the times he’d had to pretend that he was fine, because he knew that none of Thor’s pea brained friends would actually understand, and that they would probably only tell him to be a strong warrior. He wondered how many similarities there were between him and Tony. He was interested to find out.

Loki watched with fascination as Tony talked circles around the two who had been sent to speak with him. He ended up getting more information out of them than he gave away, and the visitors didn’t even seem suspicious that Tony would have anything to hide. Then they eventually thanked him for his time and left.

Tony looked almost like he was deflating the second the elevator doors closed, and he started back over to the bar. Loki made himself visible again, and Tony flinched back before letting out a resigned sigh. “I’m not in the mood right now.”

Loki shrugged, and summoned a second glass so that while Tony poured his drink, Loki could pour one for himself with alcohol that would actually have some kind of effect on him. “Would you like to talk about it?”

Tony shook his head. “Not really.” Then he arched one eyebrow. “So why didn’t you go talk to your brother?”

“He’s not my brother,” Loki answered. It was truthful, and yet it seemed to avoid giving an actual answer, and both of them knew it. They both drank in silence for a few minutes, and then Tony settled down on one of the bar stools. He patted the open seat next to him. “If you’re really from space, and hundreds of years old, you must have some interesting stories to tell.”

Loki could tell that Tony was looking for a distraction from whatever was bothering him, and Loki was happy to oblige. “Of course.” And he launched into a long and humorous tale of when he’d convinced Thor to dress up as a woman in order to get back his hammer from a foe, and it had both of them laughing out loud.

Much later, after both of them had ended up sharing a few stories, though nothing of substance, Tony had passed out and Loki had gently put him back in bed. He looked down at the sleeping mortal thoughtfully. Freya had told him that the well would give him whatever it believed he needed most, not what he asked for. Perhaps what he had needed most was a fragile little mortal to talk to, or perhaps there was more to it than that. Either way, Loki was grateful that he had not taken the well’s deal. Watching over Tony to make sure he slept peacefully was… nice.

Of course he was still angry to learn the truth of his birth, and that even Freya had hid it from him. But acting rashly was a Thor thing to do, and Norns forbid he act too much like that oaf. For now, Loki was content to stay where he was. He knew that there was still much more left to learn about his mortal, and his natural constant greed for new knowledge insisted that he stick around for at least a little bit longer.


End file.
